June 14, 2012

I hit a big milestone on the blog sometime in the last day: 50 million visits. (Page views are creeping toward 100 million.)

It's been 8 years and (exactly) 5 months — with never a single day without posting and never a co-blogger or guest-blogger, but with lots of company on the comments pages and with Meade at my side.

Who knows how long such a project can continue? I could be overcome with plague, tuberculosis, or lovesickness. I could wander off into the forest and forget my last name. HBO could put my head on a pike. I might take an unlucky leap to the left or at a wall or decide it's just too quiet around here.

But until then, I must go on. You don't have to read, but by some miracle, you do (at least until you don't), and that's really cool.

with never a single day without posting and never a co-blogger or guest-blogger

Here's a question I've been thinking about since you last guest blogged for Instapundit:

If you were going to have a guest blogger, who would it be? More specifically, if you wanted to choose someone with whom you frequently disagree, who would that be? Someone you think writes and argues well, and would maintain the high standards of the blog.

Likely I've given more thought to it than you.

Oh yeah, Congratulations. A lot of effort, and you do a great job keeping it interesting.

Well done professor: when your dean starts carping on you about publishing, you might point out that you have had 50 Million people view your work--if you were publishing a lot of papers, 20 people might view your work!

She's liberal. She's just been denounced as a Heretic by the Inner Party because she spotlights their hypocrisy and thinks for herself.

For example, the whole Valenti mess? It was questioning why the netroots and feminist bloggers were so quick to pay homage to Clinton. Of how quickly they ditched their principles for a change to share lunch with their celebrity President.

Congrats. You should be proud. I would say you have a blue collar work ethic except for your self praise. That's incongruous. My old man showed up for work @ the Pratt&Whitney plant every day but 2 for 40 years. He never brought attention to that. He was proud of his work and work ehric but simply let it speak for itself.

I'll say it again: your comments sometimes piss me off, but then I realize what you are doing...making me think, and I calm down and laugh at myself for leaping into a conclusion about you without thinking first.

Also, thanks for giving me perspective. I love it when you write "CALM DOWN, PEOPLE!"

Congratulations Althouse. I reckon about a million of those 50 million hits are mine because Trooper York hit a half million based on me, and you've been around twice as long. Plus, I feel mighty stoned on blog.

"If you were going to have a guest blogger, who would it be? More specifically, if you wanted to choose someone with whom you frequently disagree, who would that be? Someone you think writes and argues well, and would maintain the high standards of the blog."

I would find it very hard to trust anyone else to write on the front page. I wouldn't want someone I frequently disagree with (outside of those named family members).

I haven't given this access to anybody in over 8 years, so why would I want to give it to someone that disagrees with me. Who do I even frequently disagree with who would want the responsibility of maintaining the readership here?

"Well done professor: when your dean starts carping on you about publishing, you might point out that you have had 50 Million people view your work--if you were publishing a lot of papers, 20 people might view your work!"

Oh, I've been saying that for a long time. But they don't carp at me. If there is carping, and I assume there is, it's elsewhere.

WHAT?! 50 million? I thought it was just us. Wow, did I ever make an ass of myself. For better or worse, this strange phenomenon makes people on here kinda famous - one of my worst fears. No wonder people don't use their own face as an avatar. It's damned scary to an introvert like me.

Amazing job Althouse - maybe too amazing.

Only one criticism, and it's nobody's fault, but we could use a lot more liberals with good arguments please. We have some great ones, but we need more.

I mean c'mon - the host debased herself and voted for the most liberal congress critter ever for President, and they still won't come. What does she have to do, put her own head on a pike? Maybe offer some free birth control? Great writing and an incredible basket of interesting posts every day must not be enough for that prey.

I know you hope and try for more of them to come, but you simply refuse to do what most in the media do to get them: make bad arguments that stroke them.

Althouse's reminder that "Better than nothing is a high standard." is the essence of libertarianism. It's a natural move for a smart 60's liberal as they mature to start adopting that realization, just as it is for a smart conservative as they grow.

This site seems to me to be the perfect place for left and right to flesh it out, and pare it down to effective, lean policy ideas.

And of course there is always the detachable penis, zombie cannibals, and American Idol.

I've been around since 2004, during the election--which is when my blog reading started taking off. Came here via Instapundit.

Now, Instapundit and Althouse are pretty much the only two blogs I read regularly. Both exhibit very different styles of blogging, but are similar in creating daily conversations--Althouse with response, Instapundit without.

I've long wondered why I'm attracted to blogs written by law professors more than folks in my own fields. I suspect it's because both of you are legal experts with broad interests--interests that often intersect with the law, thus providing a forum for thoughtful responses. But, you're not narrowly focused on talking legalese, making for more of a salon style of intellectual engagement.

Your comment section here is likely a big reason too---most comment sections devolve into partisan childishness. There's some of that here, but again and again, when there's a topic of interest, there are actual experts who are already among us who contribute thoughtful dialogue.

That you've posted everyday is a mark of pride with you and also a model of public intellectual engagement. Some snipe at "You! A law professor!" for not being rigidly law scholarshippy, but I think this is where your role transcends your position. Your daily interactions show what it means to be educated and engaged in thoughtful interaction with the world, intellectual as as instinct rather than to prove something or to establish dominance.

You're intellectually curious, which is often lacking in both public discourse and academic interactions.

You've convinced me that not all law professors are cogs in the progressive wheel. You, and some of your commenters, sometimes even convince me that a dearly held belief of mine might be worth reexamining. And, as a bonus, I've now seen more penises, (pictures of,not in the flesh) than I ever could have aspired to otherwise. Which, by the way, was NOT my goal. I'm an old fashioned prude from the sticks.

Althouse's reminder that "Better than nothing is a high standard." is the essence of libertarianism. It's a natural move for a smart 60's liberal as they mature to start adopting that realization, just as it is for a smart conservative as they grow.

Thank you for your dedication to this blog project - you combine culture, politics and scholarship (among other things) to create a very interesting read every day. I got hooked by your awesome pictures years ago - you have a great eye!

Do the totals include the other sites in your global blogging empire? Blogger has already redirected me to www.althouse.de in the course of this trip, and I'm posting this on www.althouse.it. Was the aborted talk about changing the domain name to althou.se just a trick to divert attention from your imperialism? There probably already is a www.althouse.se... but someone else is going to have to find that out.

Thank you and many congratulations. 50 million. You've created a valuable and unique product that people like.

"I could be overcome with plague, tuberculosis, or lovesickness. I could wander off into the forest and forget my last name. HBO could put my head on a pike. I might take an unlucky leap to the left or at a wall or decide it's just too quiet around here."

I don't see libertarian as a thing you become, but a sensibility you can adopt to different degrees that improves you whether you are basically liberal or conservative. For that matter those labels can be just adjustments themselves to a basic libertarian ideology.

I think I would describe myself as basically libertarian with an American Exceptionalism boner.

Great blog. Thanks for your diligence. Many of my relatives are liberals and I've tried to get them to read this blog. But they just aren't used to hearing arguments. They just hear Wapo/NPR drivel: "the science is settled and so is the policy, except for a few racist-clinger-treasonists, and the sooner racist-clinger-treasonist heads are on a pike the better for America" so they aren't ready to discuss things. Maybe someday.

You don't have to read, but by some miracle, you do (at least until you don't), and that's really cool.

Use of the word miracle made me smile, bringing to mind the ancient story of 10 healed lepers, prompting a return on my part to say "Thanks"! At a time when I most needed a window and a relatively safe community, the Althouse blog provided both and I am grateful for the laughter, inspiration, provocation, beauty, connection and invitation offered. Daily there was something new to look forward to, with cafes open late through the evening and early morning hours.

The courtesies, consistencies, insights and variety of perspectives I encountered here during that time brought a blessing I consider to this day to be really cool, if not miraculous!

Faithfulness takes many forms; yours has been and still is very much appreciated.